Infectious diseases in the anthropocene

Infectious diseases are interconnected with the Anthropocene—broadening, integrating, and amplifying the deleterious effects that humanity has wrought on our ecosystems. When ecological integrity is lost, infectious diseases can emerge, spread, and thrive. Climate change, losses of biodiversity, habitat fragmentation and deforestation, the growth of cities, intensification of agriculture, and the degradation of water resources all directly or indirectly affect infectious diseases. Infectious diseases have been with humans since our beginning; human history and our evolution have been shaped by our infections. Yet, what has changed in the Anthropocene is the speed and extent of infectious disease emergence and spread in humans and disease emergence in the flora and fauna of our ecosystems. Disease outbreaks can be globally disseminated within hours or days due to vast networks of travel and trade. Although the complexity of the interactions between disease and environmental change are difficult to untangle, infectious diseases are a barometer of ecosystem health and by all indications stormy weather is ahead.